Night by Elie Wiesel

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Night by Elie Wiesel

• A nonfiction journey of evil and unspeakable
  horror that should never occur again.

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Nonfiction types

• An autobiography is a sketch of the authors
  entire life, often from birth up until the time
  of the writing.
• A memoir focuses on one aspect of the writers
  life. Memoirs usually cover a relatively short
  span of time, and their main purpose is to draw
  the readers attention to a specific theme or
  circumstance.

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Nonfiction other types

• A biography is the story of a life from another
  persons perspective.
• An essay is a short nonfiction work that
  addresses a specific subject.
• A speech is a talk or an address presented to an
  audience.

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Night by Elie Wiesel

• Autobiographical, memoir
• Focus on observation - describes an event that
  the writer witnessed firsthand.
• Elie Wiesel - Bearing Witness - invites us to
  listen, and to remember. Those who cannot
  remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

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Strategies for Reading Nonfiction

• Find the writers main points and support.
• Ask yourself what the author wants you to learn
  or think about.

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Background

• Prewar European population 9.5 million
• Most Jews lived in eastern Europe, primarily in
  the Soviet Union and Poland.
• The Nazi party came to power in Germany in 1933.
• The Germans moved to extend their power in
  central Europe, annexing Austria and destroying
  Czechoslavkia.

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Background (2)

• Germany invaded Poland in 1939, beginning World
  War II.
• Over the next two years, German forces conquered
  most of Europe.
• The Germans established ghettos in occupied
  eastern territories, isolating and persecuting
  the Jewish population.

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Background (3)

• Nazi anti-Jewish policy expanded with the
  invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.
• Mobile killing units murdered Jews, Roma (also
  called Gypsies), Soviet political commissars and
  others.
• The Germans and their collaborators deported Jews
  to extermination camps in occupied Poland.

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Background (4)

• At the largest extermination camp,
  Auschwitz-Birkenau, transports arrived almost
  daily from across Europe.
• By wars end, almost six million Jews and
  millions of others had perished in the Holocaust.
• Postwar European Jewish Population, ca. 1950 3.5
  million

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Terms to Know

• Holocaust
• Genocide
• Ghetto
• Prejudice
• Discrimination
• Kapo
• Los
• Gestapo

• Race
• Ethnicity
• Anti-Semitism
• Euphemism
• Fascism
• Death camp
• Concentration camp

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Holocaust

• Holocaust means complete destruction by fire.
• The term is now associated with the murder of
  more than six million Jewish people during World
  War II.

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Genocide

• Genocide is a word that combines the Greek word
  genos (meaning race, people, or nation) and the
  ending cide (meaning to kill).
• Genocide refers to the deliberate and systematic
  extermination of a national, racial, political,
  or cultural group.

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Ghetto

• The confinement of Jews in a set-apart area of
  the city.

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Prejudice

• Prejudice comes from the word prejudge
  (pre-judge, or judge beforehand).
• A prejudice is a preconceived opinion or feeling
  formed without knowledge, thought or reason.
• Prejudices are often based on stereotypes.

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Discrimination

• Discrimination is when actions are based upon
  prejudices, stereotypes, and biases.

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Kapo

• Camp prisoner forced to oversee other prisoners.

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los

• German for Go on!

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Race

• Any people united by common history, language, or
  cultural traits.
• The Dutch race.

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Ethnicity

• A shared and distinctive cultural characteristic
  pertaining to the language, religion, background,
  etc. of a group of people.
• Ethnicity generally refers to a minority within a
  larger society.

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Anti-Semitism

• Hostility toward or discrimination against Jewish
  people.

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Euphemism

• A mild or vague term that is substituted for one
  that is harsh or offensive.
• To pass away is a euphemism for to die.

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Fascism

• A system of government with centralized authority
  under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic
  controls, suppression of the opposition through
  terror and censorship and usually a policy of
  belligerent nationalism and racism.

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Death camp

• Camps dedicated to the efficient murder of Jews
  and other victims
• E.g. Auschwitz-Birkenau, Belzec, Chelmo,
  Madjanek, Sobibor, Treblinka.
• The terms was also used for concentration camps
  where thousands died of starvation and disease.

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Concentration camp

• Camps that were primarily used for slave labor
• Holding camps or
• Transit camps

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Names and Places

• Adolf Hitler
• Heinrich Himmler
• Adolph Eichmann
• Rudolph Hess
• Dr. Mengele
• Aryan Race
• Third Reich

• SS
• Gestapo
• Dachau
• Aushwitz
• Theresienstadt
• Selection
• Ghetto
• The Final Solution

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Adolf Hitler

• The Fuhrer, dictator of Germany (Chancellor
  1933, President 1934), a demagogue and tyrant
  who obtains power by appealing to the emotions
  and prejudices of the masses.

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Heinrich Himmler

• The head of the SS.

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Adolph Eichmann

• Devised the plan for the Final Solution.

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Rudolph Hess

• The commander of Auschwitz.

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Dr. Mengele

• The Angel of Death, a doctor who performed
  brutal, unnecessary experiments and operations
  upon prisoners.

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Aryan Race

• The pure Germanic race, used by the Nazis to
  suggest a superior, non-Jewish Caucasian typified
  by height, blonde hair, blue eyes.

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Third Reich

• The Third Republic of Germany which began with
  Hitlers rule in 1933 and ended with his defeat
  in 1945.

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SS

• Schutz-Staffel (literally defense echelon),
  established in 1929 as Hitlers blackshirted
  bodyguards. They became the elite guards of the
  Nazis trained in brutality and put in charge of
  concentration camps.

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Gestapo

• The secret police organized in 1933 to uncover
  and undermine political opposition.
• German acronym for the German Secret State Police
• Part of the SS
• Notorious for terrorism against enemies of the
  state.

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Dachau

• A concentration camp used as a model for the
  death camps.

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Aushwitz

• The largest death camp, located in Poland.

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Theresienstadt

• The model concentration camp used to deceive
  the visiting International Red Cross. Many
  artists were imprisoned here and later killed.

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The Final Solution

• The plan devised in 1941 to speed up the system
  of killing the Jews and undesirables. The
  previous method of shooting and burying the dead
  was too costly and inefficient. This final
  method used an efficient system of gas chambers
  and crematories to kill the Jews. Six of these
  death camps were built and often were kept
  working round the clock, killing thousands per
  day.

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Selection

• Term used when the SS forced prisoners to line up
  for inspection and decided which prisoners would
  live and which would be killed.

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Jewish / Biblical terms to know

• Cabbala
• Hasidism
• Job
• Kaddish
• Maimonides
• Messiah
• Zohar
• Passover
• Pentecost

• Rosh Hashana
• Lazarus
• Synagogue
• Talmud
• Temple
• Yellow star
• Yom Kippur
• Zionism

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Cabbala

• Jewish mysticism, including numerology.

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Hasidism

• Movement of Orthodox Judaism with strong mystical
  and emotional elements.

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Job

• Biblical figure who has come to symbolize
  suffering.

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Kaddish

• A prayer in Aramaic praising God. The mourners
  Kaddish is said for the dead.

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Maimonides (1135-1204)

• Jewish rabbi
• Physician
• Philosopher

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Messiah

• Greek translation of Hewbrew Mashiach
• The anointed one.

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Zohar

• From the Hebrew meaning light or splendor.
• One of the major works of the Cabbala.

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Passover

• Greek word for the celebration of the exodus of
  Jewish people from Slavery in Egypt.

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Pentecost

• The celebration of the giving of the Torah.

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Rosh Hashana

• Jewish New Year.

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Lazarus

• A man described in the Books of John and Luke as
  having been raised from the dead by Jesus.

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Synagogue

• A Jewish house of worship and study.

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Talmud

• The most important compilation of Jewish oral
  tradition.

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Temple

• Holiest place in Judaism, located in Jerusalem.
  Biblically ordained sacrifices were performed
  here. Built and destroyed twice.

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Yellow Star

• Nazis forced Jews to wear a cloth badge with the
  word Jew written in the center of a yellow six
  pointed star.

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Yom Kippur

• Day of Atonement.
• Holiest day of Jewish year.
• When the Jews fast and pray for forgiveness of
  their sins.

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Zionism

• Political movement advocating the establishment
  of a Jewish state.